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Former India women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal announced her retirement and put an end to her 16-year-old glorious career. Rampal is known as one of the torchbearers of women’s hockey in India. Over the years, Rampal emerged as an inspiration to several young girls across the country, as she beat all the odds, including poverty and that of a conservative society of a small town to reach the pinnacle of success. The 29-year-old has been one of the most decorated hockey players after leading India to the best-ever finish at the Olympics.
Under her captaincy, the Women in Blue attained their best-ever finish at the Olympics, when they finished fourth at the Tokyo Games in 2021. During her career, Rani scored more than 100 goals in more than 250 games that she played for India. Rani was present at the second match of the men’s bilateral series between India and Germany, where the FIH felicitated her and retired jersey number 28 in her honour.
I never thought I will play for so long for India: Rani Rampal
Rampal shared an emotional message and said that she never thought she would play for so long for India. "It's been an outstanding journey. I never thought I would play for so long for India. I have seen a lot of poverty from childhood but my focus was always to do something, to represent the country," she told reporters in a press conference, as quoted by PTI news agency. For those who don’t know, Rani became the youngest hockey player to represent India when she debuted for the country at the 2008 Olympic qualifiers at 14 years.
She was a member of the Indian squad which participated in the 2010 World Cup at the age of 15 years. She announced her arrival at international stage by posting seven goals to assist the side to ninth spot in the world rankings and record the best result since 1978. Rani guided the side to two significant wins, including the 2017 Women’s Asia Cup and the silver at the 2018 Asian Games.
